Several of Silicon Valley's noisiest moguls and investors are backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vax activist who's challenging President Biden for the Democratic Party nomination.

Why it matters: This could increase pressure on Biden to debate Kennedy — something he's thus far declined to entertain.

Driving the news: Jack Dorsey endorsed RFK Jr. last week, while venture capitalists and popular podcasters David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya next week will jointly host a fundraiser in the Bay Area.

• Elon Musk also just hosted RFK Jr. on Twitter Spaces, a platform he's offered to all presidential candidates.

The big picture: These are intrinsic contrarians supporting a long-shot presidential candidate whose last name is matched only by his baggage.

• Much like when Peter Thiel supported Donald Trump in 2016.

Behind the scenes: Next week's fundraiser includes a cocktail hour and then a smaller dinner.

• Palihapitiya tells Axios that he's been "surprised" by how positive the invitation response has been, including "a lot of people maxing out."

What to know: RFK Jr. is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated.

• He spent most of his career as an environmental lawyer and activist. But he's become better known for amplifying debunked claims that vaccines cause childhood autism, and has helped pull other anti-vax conspiracy theories into the mainstream.

What they're saying: "He's going to hopefully have lots of time to explain what he believes [about vaccines] in enough nuance," argues Palihapitiya, who adds that RFK Jr. "is allowed to have beliefs I don’t 100% agree with."

• Palihapitiya also stressed that while RFK Jr. is "really dynamic and credible," his support is also being driven by a belief that Democratic Party voters need to see Biden debate in order "to know he's ready for another four years."

The bottom line: A handful of Silicon Valley elites won't determine the presidential nominee, let alone topple an incumbent president. But they could help narrow the money and credibility gaps.

Bitterroot Bio, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based developer of immunotherapies for cardiovascular disease, raised $145 million in Series A funding co-led by Arch Venture Partners and Deerfield Management.

Why it's the BFD: Heart disease kills nearly twice as many Americans each year than cancer, but more venture dollars flow to cancer than to cardio.

Other investors include Google Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies and Alexandria Venture Investments.

The bottom line: Two of Bitterroot's co-founders — Nick Leeper and Irv Weissman — previously created a cancer-focused biotech called Forty Seven that Gilead bought in 2020 for $4.9 billion. The pair are now basically retrofitting that research to apply to cardio inflammation, which is something Gilead didn't pursue.

• Cohere, a Toronto-based generative AI startup, raised US$270m. Inovia led, and was joined by Nvidia, Oracle, Salesforce Ventures, DTCP, Mirae Asset, Schroders Capital, SentinelOne, Thomvest Ventures and insider Index Ventures.. www.cohere.com

• Blackpoint Cyber, an Ellicott City, Md.-based provider of cybersecurity solutions for SMBs, raised $190m in Series C funding. Bain Capital Tech Opportunities led, and was joined by Accel, Adelphi Capital Partners, Telecom Ventures, Pelican Ventures and WP Global Partners. https://axios.link/3p0YUtg

• GSoft, a Montreal-based employee experience platform, raised C$125m from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec in the bootstrapped company's first round of outside funding. https://axios.link/42wTnZ8

• Pigment, a Paris-based business planning platform, raised $88m in Series C funding. Iconiq Growth led, and was joined by Felix Capital and insiders Meritech, IVP and FirstMark Capital. https://axios.link/3OZWm9o

🚑 Kate Therapeutics, a San Diego-based gene therapy startup, raised $51m in Series A funding. Westlake Village BioPartners and Versant Ventures co-led, and were joined by Osage University Partners and UF Innovate Ventures. It also signed a deal to let Astellas Pharma develop, manufacture and commercialize a drug candidate for treating X-linked myotubular myopathy. https://axios.link/43reuxB

• EvenUp, an SF-based provider of AI support for personal injury lawyers, raised $50.5m in Series B funding. Bessemer Venture Partners led, and was joined by Bain Capital Ventures, Clio, Scott Belsky and insiders DCM, SignalFire, NFX and Gokul Rajaram. www.evenuplaw.com

• Granica, a Mountain View, Calif.-based AI efficiency platform, raised $45m from backers like NEA and Bain Capital Ventures. www.granica.ai

🌎 SustainCERT, a Luxembourg-based climate impact verification platform, raised $37m in Series B funding from backers like Partech and Hartree. https://axios.link/3N0aMng

🚑 Pomelo Care, a New York-based virtual maternal and infant health medical practice, raised $33m in seed and Series A funding from Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, SV Angel Operator Partners, Allen & Co. and BoxGroup. https://axios.link/3J4WQHz

⚡ Woltair, a Prague-based energy management startup, raised €20.5m. The Westly Group and Fifth Wall co-led, and were joined by ArcTern Ventures, Kaya and Inven Capital. https://axios.link/3MY9fhw

• Contextual AI, a developer of enterprise-focused language models, raised $20m in seed funding. Bain Capital Ventures led, and was joined by Lightspeed Venture Partners Greycroft and SV Angel. https://axios.link/3N2kV3c

• Ringover, a French cloud communications startup, raised €20m. Orange Ventures and Bpifrance co-led, and were joined by Expedition Growth Capital. www.ringover.fr

• Meanwhile, a Bermuda-based crypto life insurance startup, raised $19m in seed funding from Sam Altman, Lachy Groom and Gradient Ventures. https://axios.link/43G8IZ7

• Onfly, a Brazilian provider of corporate travel and expense management software, raised $16m in Series A funding co-led by Left Lane Capital and Cloud9 Capital. www.onfly.com.br

• Griffin, a newly licensed U.K. bank, raised $13.5m in Series A funding. MassMutual Ventures led, and was joined by Seedcamp, Notion Capital and EQT Ventures. https://axios.link/3IWUKti

🚑 Laudio, a Newton, Mass.-based provider of health care operations management software, raised $13m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Define Ventures led, and was joined by insiders .406 Ventures, InHealth Ventures, MemorialCare Innovation Fund, and TeleTracking Technologies. https://axios.link/3MWWGmL

• Insify, an Amsterdam-based business insurance startup, raised €10m in Series A extension funding. Munich Re Ventures led, and was joined by insiders Accel, Frontline Ventures and Visionaries Club. https://axios.link/3WSrgCJ

• Onebeat, an Israeli provider of retail inventory management software, secured $10m in Series B funding. Magenta Venture Partners led, and was joined by AnD Ventures, INcapital Ventures, J-Ventures and Surround Ventures. https://axios.link/43uPqWu

⚡ Oort Energy, a London-based hydrogen-electrolyzer developer, raised £5m in seed funding. Energy Revolution Ventures led, and was joined by Trirec. www.oortenergy.com

• Dock, an SF-based client-facing workspace for sales, onboarding and renewals, raised $3.5m. Craft Ventures led, and was joined by insiders Operator Collective and Jack Altman. www.dock.us

• Haul247, a Nigerian B2B logistics platform, raised $2m in seed funding from Alitheia Capital. https://axios.link/3OZKqV8

🌎 Magrathea, an SF-based carbon-free metals producer, raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from EQT Foundation. https://axios.link/3NgGQVo

• 48forty, a Houston-based portfolio company of Audax PE and Summit Partners, acquired Anderson, S.C.-based Taylor Pallets & Recycling. www.48forty.com

• Bain Capital offered to buy Chinese data center operator Chindata Group (Nasdaq: CD) for $2.93b. https://axios.link/45OhEwS

⚡ CleanCapital, a New York-based solar energy and storage developer, secured up to $500m from Canadian insurer Manulife. https://axios.link/42rSroY

🍕 Flynn Restaurant Group, an SF-based franchisee, agreed to acquire Pizza Hut Australia from Allegro Funds. Flynn backers include Greenspring Associates, Constitution Capital Partners and Main Post Partners. www.flynnrestaurantgroup.com

• GrowthCurve Capital acquired Netchex, a Covington, La.-based provider of human capital management and payroll software, from Primus Capital. www.netchex.com

• HCAP Partners invested in Flume, a San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based residential water-tech company. www.flumewater.com

• Medius, a Swedish portfolio company of Advent International and Blue Star Innovation Partners, agreed to buy Expensya, a French expense management startup that raised over $20m from firms like Endeavor Global, ISAI, Seventure Partners and MAIF Avenir. www.medius.com

• Schneider Geospatial, an Indianapolis-based portfolio company of Align Capital Partners, acquired PeopleGIS, a Woburn, Mass.-based provider of asset management SaaS for public works. www.schneidergis.com

• Southpaw, a Woodbridge, Conn.-based QSR owner and operator, acquired nearly 40 Taco Bell locations in the Greater Atlanta market. Southpaw backers include Balance Point Capital. www.teamsouthpaw.co

• Toshiba’s (T: 6502) board recommended that that shareholders approve a $14b takeover bid led by Japan Industrial Partners. https://axios.link/3oRsDou

• Ultimate Kronos Group, a Weston, Fla.-based company whose backers include Blackstone and Nautic Partners, is paying €575m to acquire Immedis, an Irish payroll management platform whose VC backers include Scottish Equity Partners and Lead Edge Capital. https://axios.link/43L8AqJ

• Snyk, a Boston-based developer security company valued by VCs at $7.4b, agreed to buy Enso Security, an Israeli application security posture management company that raised VC funding from firms like YL Ventures, CyberArk Software and Merlin Ventures. www.snyk.com

• BlackRock agreed to buy Kreos Capital, a London-based provider of growth and venture debt funding in the tech and health care sectors. https://axios.link/43SwuRj

• GiveCampus, a Washington, D.C.-based fundraising platform for educational nonprofits, acquired Community Funded, a Fort Collins, Colo.-based provider of giving day and crowdfunding solutions. GiveCampus last year raised $50m led by Silversmith Capital Partners. https://axios.link/3CjU7qc

• Hydrosat, a Washington, D.C.-based developer of Earth observation satellites that recently raised $20m in Series A funding and grants, acquired IrriWatch, a Dutch provider of irrigation management software. www.hydrosat.com

• PVcase, a Lithuanian provider of solar-project-design software, acquired Anderson Optimization, a Boulder, Colo.-based provider of solar-siting software. PVcase has raised over $20m from firms like Elephant Partners and Contrarian Ventures. https://axios.link/3qnJCz8

• Ramon Ang, a Filipino billionaire, invested $194 million to increase his stake in the parent company of food, beverage and infrastructure conglomerate San Miguel. https://axios.link/45Snz48

• Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN) agreed to sell its Zimbabwe business to FBC Holdings. https://axios.link/3P1XV71

• Tokyo Marine (T: 8766) hired Goldman Sachs and Jefferies to find a buyer for its Southeast Asia life insurance unit, which could fetch around $1b, per Reuters. https://axios.link/43OLYWh

• Antler, a Singapore-based seed firm, raised $285m for its first growth fund. https://axios.link/3J2aTxv

⚡ BlackRock is raising up to $7b for its fourth global renewable power fund. www.blackrock.com

🌎 Just Climate, a unit of Generation Investment Management that’s intended to “address the net-zero challenge at scale,” raised $1.5b for its debut fund. https://axios.link/3Cjz5b6

• Side Door Ventures is raising up to $30m for its third fund, per an SEC filing.

• TJC (fka The Jordan Co.) is targeting $5.5b for its sixth flagship buyout fund. https://axios.link/464PGNA

• Angeles Investments named co-founder Howard Perlow as its first-ever CEO. It also named David Brief as head of the firm's outsourced chief investment office. wwwt.angelesinvestments.com

⚡ Michael Casey stepped down as head of midstream at Goldman Sachs to lead Wells Fargo’s advisory group for pipeline operators and refiners, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3XadN9D

• Ron Eliasek stepped down as Bank of America’s chair of global TMT investing banking and global co-head of software to join Jefferies, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/43Hd95a

• Sam Lee resigned as head of the Seoul office for Affinity Equity Partners, per Korea Economic Daily. https://axios.link/45TiSGX

• Chad Rigetti, founder of Rigetti Computing, is joining quantum tech-focused VC fund QDNL Participations as a venture partner. www.qdnlparticipations.nl

⚡ Robyn Underwood and Jason Kivett both stepped down as Houston-based managing directors with Barclays to join Pickering Energy Partners, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/45Q3YkW

Global venture capital activity continues to be much cooler than it was in 2022, according to data from Crunchbase.

• Deal value rose slightly between April and May, hitting nearly $22 billion, but May 2023 remained down 44% from May 2022. Go deeper.